Railway-tie and kail-fastener



C. E. ESTABROOK.

RAILWAY TIE AND HAIL FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-6, 1920.

Patented June 21, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET l.

INVENTOR C. vE'. Estabrook,

WITNESSES A TTORNE Y8 C. E. ESTABROOK.

RAILWAY HE AND RAIL FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-6. 1920.

1,382,182. PatenwdJune 21, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l. M a A w b b wi l 3 MW N h INVENTOR C. E E8 L ab rook,

I I, By Willy-g? ATTORNfI S C. E. ESTABROOK.

RAILWAY TIE AND RAIL FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-6,1920.

'4 SHEETS*SHEET 3.

Patented June 21, 1921.

INVENTUR i s tall/00k, LJLMM 26;

WITNESSES C. E. ESTABROOK.

RAILWAY TIE AND RAIL FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-6,1920.

1,382,182, Patented June 21, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

INVENTOR WITNESSES V V V C. In. lzstabrooie PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES ELSWORTH ESTABROOK, OF SPRINGPORT, INDIANA.

RAILWAY-TIE AN D RAIL-FASTENER.

Application filed August 6, 1920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. ESTA- nRook, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Springport, in the county of Henry and Stateof Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailway-Ties and Rail-Fasteners, of which the followin is aspecification.

My invention relates to railway ties, and rail fasteners, and a purposeof my invention is the provision of a tie or rail fastener soconstructed as to be accommodated to different kinds of ballast, rails,rolling stocks and climatic conditions, my invention havmg the desirablefeatures of simplicity, dura ility and efliciency and capable of beingad'ustable to support the rails of tracks of di erent gages.

I will describe four forms of railway ties and rail fasteners embodyingmy invention, and will then point out the novel features thereof inclaims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a view showing in side elevation one form of railway tie andone form of rail fastener each embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 isan end elevation of Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a detailed perspective view of one of the locking keys shownin the preceding views.

Fig. 5 is a view showing in side elevation another form of railway tieand rail fastener embodying my invention.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 77 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 9 is a view showing in side elevation a third form of railway tieand rail fastener embodying my invention.

Fig. 10 is a top plan view partly in section of one of the anchormembers comprised in the tie shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 1111 of Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is an end elevation of the tie shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 13 is a detailed perspective view of one of the rail fasteningbolts shown in the preceding views.

Fig. 14 is a detailed perspective view showing one of the bar securingbolts shown in'Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 21, 1921.

Serial No. 401,710.

Fig. 15 is a View showing in side elevation another form of railway tieembodying my invention.

Fig. 16 is a top plan view of Fig. 15.

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the railwa tieshown in Figs. 5 and 6 having applied thereto one form of shieldembodying my invention.

Fig. 18 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 18-18 of Fig.17.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in each of theseveral views.

Referring specifically to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 to 3inclusive, I have here shown a railway tie comprising two anchor membersdesignated by A, each of which is formed of suitable metal and ofsubstantially pyramidal form. Each anchor member A is hollow so as toprovide a compartment in which a portion of the track ballast is adaptedto be disposed as will be more fully described hereinafter. At the apexof each of the anchor members A an upwardly extending projection 15 isformed upon which a track rail designated by R is adapted to seat, onelongitudinal edge of the projection 15 being formed with a verticallyextending lip or flange 16. The vertical walls of the projection 15 areprovided with suitable openings to receive a plurality of rail fasteningbolts B, each of which latter is threaded at one end as indicated at 17to receive the nut 18 while the opposite end is bent to provide a book19, as shown in Fig. 13. The shank of each bolt B is partially flattenedupon its upper side so as to engage the inner side of the anchor memberand to cooperate with the confronting face of the bill on the hook 19 tosnugly engage the bottom, edge and upper side of the base flange of arail when in applied position, so that when the nut is applied to thebolt as shown in Fig. 7 the bolt will securely lock the rail againstlateral movement on the anchor member. As shown in Fig. 2, eachprojection 15 is provided with two pairs of bolts B, the bolts of onepair being disposed in reverse relation to the bolts of the other pairso that all the hooks 19 engage the base flange of the rail. The twoinnermost bolts B also extend through the flange 16 thereby securelylocking the rail against outward lateral displacement.

The anchor members A of the tie are adapted to be connected to eachother by means of a connecting bar designated at C,

such bar extending through suitable openings formed in the anchormembers and secured within the members against longitudinal movement bymeans of keys designated at K and K, respectively. As shown in Fig. 2,the opposite ends of the connecting bar C project beyond'the outer endsof the anchor members and are here provided with horizontally disposedslots hrough which extend the keys K. Similar slots are also provided inthe bar C at points adjacent the confronting ends of the anchor membersfor the reception of the keys K. As shown in Fig. 4, each key K or Kcomprises a somewhat pointed head 20 vformed at one end of a shank 21and the latter being provided with. an opening through which extends acotter pin 22. One edge of the shank and head is beveled as indicated at23 so that in the applied position of the key to the connecting bar, thebeveled edge will conform to the curvature of the corresponding anchormember and thus permit of snug fitting of the key through the connectinbar and into engagement with the anchor member. The pointed head 20permits of the ready insertion of the key into the connecting bar, theshoulder of the head locking the key against longitudinal displacementin one direction, and the pin 22 locking the same against movement inthe opposite direction. are wider than the keys K, the purpose of whichis to secure a slight longitudinal adjustment of the connecting bar tovary the distance between the anchor members A and to thereby allow ofthe tie as a unit to accommodate a track of slightly different gage.This longitudinal adjustment can be readily effected by reversing thepositions of the keys K with respect to the keys K or vice versa. Inother words, with the keys in the position shown in Fig. 2, the rails Rare spaced apart a distance less than the distance therebetween when thekeys K occupy the positions of the keys K so that when it is desired tovary the distance between the anchor members and to thus vary the gageof the track, it,

is only necessary to properly position one set of keys with. respect tothe other. A further adjustment of the tie may be obtained by varyingthe lengths of the slots in the bar and increasing or decreasing thewidth of the keys.

Referring now to Figs. to 8 inclusive, I have here shown another form ofrailway tie and rail fastenerer in which the anchor members A are ofsubstantially the same shape as the anchor members in the first form ofrailway tie with the exception that they are formed with recesses 24 toprovide shoulders 25, while within the recesses 24 is formed arailfastening member desig- As shown. in Fig. 2, the keys IQ nated at 26. Asillustrated to advantage in Fig. 7, each fastenlng member 26 1ssubstantially wedge-shaped in cross sectlon to provide a substantialsupport for a lip 26 formed on the inner edge thereof and disposed inspaced relation to the top of the anchor member for the reception of aportion of the base flange of a rail. The shoulders are formed withsuitable openings at points corresponding to openings 27 formed in theanchor member, and through these openings are extended bolts B similarin construction to the bolts B in the first form of tie. With the boltsB arranged in this manner, the hooks 19 function to engage the baseflange of the rail and to thus cooperate with the lip 26 in securelyholding a rail against lateral movement on the anchor member.

As in the first form of railway tie, the anchor members in. the secondform of tie are of identical construction and are also connected in amanner to allow of lateral adjustment of one with respect to the otherto vary the distance between the two to support the rails of tracks ofdifferent gages. To this end, I provide a pair of connecting bars Cwhich embrace the sides of the anchor members and; are secured theretoby means of bolts B. As illustrated to advantage in Figs. 7 and 8, thebolts B extend through any one of a plurality of openings 28 formed atvarious points within the side portions of the anchor members. Thisarrangement of the openings 28 permits of the securing of the anchormembers A in various positions with respect to each other to vary thedistance therebetween by inserting the bolts B in the desired openings28 as will be under stood. As shown in Figv .14, the shank of each boltB is of ovate contour in cross section. and as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.each opening 28 is also of ovate contour to accommodate the bolt shankand to thus lock the latter against rotation within the opening. Becauseof this construction it will be clear that with any one bolt in anopening 28, rotation of the bolt is prevented so that after the nut ofthe bolt has been applied rotation of the bolt to loosen the nut cannotoccur.

Referring now to Figs. 9 to 12 inclusive, I have here shown another formof railway tie comprising a pair of anchor members A identical inconstruction to the anchor members A of the second. form of railway tiewith the exception that they are formed with a rail fastening member 29supported in the same manner as the rail fastening member 26 but formedat its edge with an upwardly inclined lip 29 and a vertically extendinglip 29. These two lips 29 and 29 are adapted to embrace the base flangeand web of the rail R at its outer side and to thus lock the railagainst outward lateral movement. The rail is locked against inwardlateral movement by the books 19 of the bolts B which extend through theanchor member in the same manner as that described in connection withthe bolts B of the second form of tie. In addition to this fasteningmeans, I alsoprovide bolts B which extend through the lip 29 and the webof the rail R in the manner illustrated to advantage in Fig. 10. Thismeans may also be employed for connecting the confronting ends of apairof rail sections as illustrated in Fig. 10, thus eliminating the use ofthe ordinary fish plates.

For ad'ustably connecting the anchor members d in'this form of myinvention, I provide a connecting bar designated at C which extendsthrough the anchor members in the manner shown in Fig. 11 so that theopposite ends thereof project beyond the anchor members. These projectedends of the connecting bar C are disposed between a pair of cars 30secured to the anchor memher by means of rivets 31. At this point withinthe length of the connecting bar, a series of openings 32 are formedwhich extend diagonally with respect to the bar as clearly shown in Fig.11. The ears 30 are provided at corresponding points with an opening toreceive a bolt B which is adapted to pass through any one of theopenings 32 and to thereby lock the connecting bar against longitudinalmovement. It will be understood that by virtue of the position of theopenings 32 an adjustment of the connecting bar can be effected byremoving and replacing the bolt from the openings. As shown in Figs. 9and 10, the connecting bar is also formed at points adjacent theconfronting sides of the anchor member with two series of openings 33,the openings of each series being arranged in triangular formation andadapted to receive a cotter pin 34.

From a consideration of Fig. 9, it will be clear that the openings 32and 33 and the bolt 13 and cotter pins 34 all coact to effect alongitudinal adjustment of the connecting bars (I with respect to theanchor members A, and to thus vary the distance between the anchormembers to accommodate and support the rails of tracks of various gages.

Referring now to 15 and 16, I have here shown a modification of therailway tie shown in Figs. 5 and 6. in which the anchor members A are ofthe same construction as the anchor members shown in Figs. 5 and 6, withthe exception that they are provided at their confronting sides withslots to receive the opposite ends of a connecting bar C". Theconnecting bar C is constructed in a manner similar to the connectingbar C in Fig. 9 in that it is provided with openings through which bolts50 are adapted to extend. As in the form shown in Figs. 9 and 10, theanchor members are provided with ears secured to their confronting sidesadjacent the slots and spaced apart to receive the opposite ends of theconnecting bars C. The cars 30 are formed with openings to receive thebolts 50, the openings in the ears and the openings of the connectingbar being so arranged as to permit of the longitudinal adjustment of theanchor members with respect to the connecting bar.

In Fig. 17. I have shown a portion of the railway tie shown in Figs. 5and 6, and having applied to one of the connecting bars C a shield orprotecting plate designated by S. The shield S is designed for thepurpose of protecting the connecting bar from the action of theelements, and as shown comprises a single sheet of metal bent intoinverted U-form and having its end portions cut away as indicated at 50for conforming engagement against the adjacent ends of the anchormembers. The lower edges of the shield are bent outwardly and upwardlyto provide troughs 51, as clearly shown in Fig. 18.

In the applied position of any one of the four railway ties, the anchormembers are partially embedded within the ballast of a road bed in suchmanner that they are completely filled with ballast so that the ballastfunctions to firmly hold the members and the tie as a unit againstlateral displacemcnt. The ballast beneath the anchor members ismaintained dry and subsequent damage caused by freezing prevented.

From the foregoing description of the several forms of railway ties andrail fasteners, it will he manifest that I have provided a railway tiecapable of longitudinal adjustment to accommodate and support tracks ofvarious gages. and means for securing rails of various sizes to the tieirrespective of its adjustment and for holding or locking the samethereon against spreading.

Although I have herein shown and described only four forms of railwayties and rail fasteners embodying my invention, it is to be understoodthat various changes and modifications may be made herein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention and the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A railway tie comprising. anchor members. rail securing means carriedby each of the members. a connecting rod extending through said membersand connecting the same. keys of different sizes insertible through saidconnecting rod and engaging said anchor member. and means for lockingsaid keys within said connecting rod.

2. A railway tie comprising a pair of anchor members. rail clampingmeans carried by said members. spaced ears on each of the members, aconnecting bar extending through said members and between said ears, andhaving holes formed therein, and bolts extending through said ears andthrough certain of said holes for the purpose described.

3. A railway tiecomprising, a pair of anchor members having railsecuring means thereon, bars connecting said members at the oppositesides thereof, ovate openings formed in said members, and bolts havingshanks of ovate contour in cross section extending through said openingsand through said connecting bars.

4. A railway tie, an anchor member, a rail fastening member formed onthe anchor member and comprising a lip inclined with relation to theanchor member and spaced therefrom, and a second 11p integrally formedwith the first lip and vertically disi posed, hooked bolts extendingthrough the anchor member and cooperating with the first lip to retain arail on the anchor member, and bolts extending through the second lipand adapted to extend through the web of a rail for securing the rail tothe lip.

5. A railway tie comprising, anchor members, rail securing means carriedby each of the members, a connecting rod extending into said members andconnecting the same,-

and a shield embracing the rod between the anchor members and comprisinga single sheet of metal bent into inverted U-form and having its endportions cut-away for conforming engagement against the adjacent ends ofthe anchor members.

CHARLES ELSWORTH ESTABROOK,

